WELLESLEY,
Mass. -- Wellesley College President Diana Chapman Walsh
has announced the appointment of Jennifer Desjarlais
as the College's new dean of admission.

“In September I asked the committee to help me find
a proven leader with both a strategic and an operational
understanding of all aspects of the admissions process,
a person of grace and integrity who can represent Wellesley
College very well, and someone with insight into the special
challenges of recruiting a strong and diverse applicant
pool for an all-women’s college,” Walsh said. “The
committee brought me its unanimous recommendation that
in Jennifer Desjarlais we have found the leader we sought
and want.

“As
director of admission, starting in July 2001, Jenn did
a superb job overseeing the operations of the
division. As its interim leader over the past six months,
Jenn inspired the admiration and respect of trustees, faculty,
members of the administration, and her own staff. She has
clearly demonstrated her ability to take on this leadership
role, within the college and in the wider educational community.
Our search yielded plentiful evidence of the high regard
in which Jenn is held by professional colleagues across
the country.”

Desjarlais
came to Wellesley in January 1999 as a senior associate
director of admissions with 13 years of experience
in admissions, as associate director of admission and coordinator
of admission marketing at Smith College and, before that,
as associate director of admission at Simmons College,
among other positions. She is a 1985 Simmons graduate and
earned a master’s degree in higher education and
student affairs administration from the University of Vermont
in 1990.

Since 1875, Wellesley College has been a leader in providing
an excellent liberal-arts education for women who will
make a difference in the world. Its 500-acre campus near
Boston is home to 2,300 undergraduate students from all
50 states and 68 countries.